The hidden village just metres from North Korea | BBC News

The tiny village of Taesung sits deep in the heart of Korea’s Demilitarised Zone – the strip of no-man’s land separating North and South Korea.

The community of South Koreans, many aged in their 80s and 90s, live mere metres from North Korea, meaning they must be guarded day and night by hundreds of soldiers.

The village was established at the end of the Korean War as a symbol of peace, but 70 years later, the Korean Peninsula is still divided, and over the past year tensions between the two countries have flared.

The BBC’s Seoul correspondent Jean Mackenzie has secured rare access to the village, the people who live there and the soldiers who guard them. Filmed and edited by Hosu Lee.

#SouthKorea #NorthKorea #BBCNews

[TheEdgeOfUnknown]

The old lady that offered cabbage to the cameraman reminds me so much of my grandma…still kind, loving and persevering through life after having for sure lived through so much trauma and hard times. Wishing nothing but the best for all Koreans, may the Kim dynasty meet its end soon.

[alberteinsteinthejew]

Harvesting crops with soldiers watching, feels like an apocalypse movie

[eireman]

I'd reckon that village has absolutely no crime.

[mexicotaco]

not sure why captions are missing in some parts but:
3:20 "after the armistice, there were no [buses] at all. Then they started to come once a week, once every three days..." and 3:41 "it would be nice [to do my hair] once every month, but it's too much of a hassle."

[westnilesnipes]

It’s a bit sad to think one day this village will be as deserted as the one that sits in the North…

[uwlyhrj]

I'm a Korean living in Paju, but it's my first time seeing the life of a Taeseong villager. Thank you BBC.

[branchgaa]

The reality of families having been seperated after the war, the elderly would certainly want Korea united, but perhaps the youth don't know much about this unless they listen to the elderly. Makes me think about why they might choose to live there, in remembrance and hoping to see thier family again.

[kibulb]

the story of the man who hasn't heard from his brother since the war really breaks my heart. Cellphones and stuff weren't a thing yet so I can't imagine how hard it was to contact someone even BEFORE the war.

[incisivecommenter]

My father fought in the Korean war 1950-1953, he was 17 when he was drafted. He passed in 2016. Towards the end of his life, he talked about the war, very traumatic stories.

[joshr]

Never heard of these two villages in any other video i've ever seen on north korea.. Thanks BBC

[lisasantiago]

The villagers looked happy and content in their simple life with friendly soldiers to protect them. 🙏🙏🙏

[HLJlovejoy]

Praying for reunification. My mom’s siblings were separated by the war & she’s never heard from or seen them since late 40s. It’s truly unimaginable & heartbreaking.

[MrJm]

"Tae Song Dong" is how we G.I.s (Second Infantry Division) knew it, when I was there in the 1980s, pulling patrols inside our small section of the DMZ and pulling duty on the observation posts inside the DMZ itself: "Guard Post Oullette" and "Guard Post Collier".
It was my understanding that the North Korean "propaganda village", Kijong-dong, was uninhabited, but every day the North Korean authorities would truck in civilians to farm the fields, etc.. They would trucked back out in the evening.
The North Korean flag, mounted on their pole (which of course is higher than the flagpole on the South's side), is supposedly the largest flag in the world.

Like the soldier, here, explained, there is no physical barrier separating the Northern half of the 4 kilometer wide DMZ from the Southern half. There are only some rusted out yellow signs indicating the "MDL" ("Military Demarcation Line") along this line. The south-facing sides of these signs were in English and Korean, the north-facing sides in Chinese and Korean. Step beyond those, and you were in the North. ...So when you see photos of soldiers walking along a fence, that fence is the southern limit of the 4 KM-wide DMZ, rather than the actual line of demarcation between South and North Korea.

One impression this video doesn't provide is the audial experience I remember: the propaganda speakers from each side, projecting music and spoken propaganda. (Usually pop music from the South Korean speakers, martial music from the North Korean ones.) It was made more eerie because the banks of speakers would be swivelled in various directions, and you could hear the music or words wafting in and out. Other than that, there wasn't much noise. There was very little traffic on the road (the main road from the gate to the Joint Security Area or "Panmunjom", the "truce village", which was a compound centered on three buildings [for conferences] which straddled the MDL). The JSA is the most tense place there -- the place most likely to erupt in violence (in case someone defected or one side were to trim a tree, whatever). ...Another eerie aspect was at night: most of the DMZ seemed to be in darkness. But, when you lifted your NOD (night observation device) up to your eyes, suddenly large swaths would be "lit up", because there were infrared lamps and spot lights, lighting up what each side thought was a critical part to have under constant observation, in a light wavelength invisible to the naked eye.

[thehangmansdaughter]

"We don't have to serve in the military" Oh Sweetie, you already are. Living under these conditions is your service.

[SaiCharan-tirm]

I cried when the old man said about his brother 😢 it's so sad that so many losed their relations due to the

[nasdaq]

Amazing documentary and reporter. God bless those people

[Kitana]

The man waiting for one day to reunite with his brother stuck in NK... This world is evil

[ryanimal]

The respect and appreciation the elders/ community members have for the ROK/US/UN soldiers shows how much the people in the community appreciate the fact that they can still live in their homes with some peace of mind because of the sacrifice these soldiers have made. I hope one day for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

[NOMAD]

I feel for that Old Man who has never seen or heard from his mother since the war started😢

[Gary_Ji]

Touched video! Hope those farmers will live in peace and tranquility, thanks BBC to show us how they lives like.